OAKLAND / Cities joining forces to quell rise in gangs

Jason B. Johnson

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, January 25, 2007

Two disturbing facts became clear Wednesday when police, educators and civic leaders gathered in Oakland to talk about gangs: There are a lot more gang members in California than 10 years ago, and they've become increasingly violent.

Jordan said he's looking for new ways to crack down on violence in Oakland, where there were 148 homicides last year, compared with 94 in 2005. About 38 percent of the 2006 slayings were gang-related.

"We didn't spend nearly enough time on intervention as we did on enforcement. As a result of that, we're changing our focus," he said.

San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis said he wants local law enforcement to do a better job of sharing information on different gangs and successful programs.

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"We still don't have collaboration with other cities, and I think that's the piece that's missing," Davis said. "If we don't do that, then shame on us as a Bay Area community."

The group will meet today to decide how best to share crime data and information on successful anti-gang programs.

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